Ruler(s)

Owner(s)

Visitors

Metropolis (メトロポリス,Metoroporisu?) is a recurring location in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It is the capital city of the Eggman Empire where Dr. Eggman has his central headquarters,[1][2] and the most heavily fortified of Eggman's fortresses.[3] Most of the time, however, Eggman has operated out of mobile command centers or hidden research labs rather than Metropolis. Eggman also usually prioritizes the establishment of the "ultimate city" of Eggmanland, which aesthetically resembled a theme park more than an actual city, but serves the same purpose as the home nation of the Eggman Empire, over Metropolis. Nonetheless, Metropolis has been the site of its fair share of battles between Sonic the Hedgehog (and his allies) and the forces of evil.

Contents

Description

The overall layout of Metropolis has differed between each depiction. What each depiction has in common though, is that each of them is presented as an enormous metallic capital/fortress of machines and robots.

In Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, Metropolis was shown in a manner similar to that of an actual headquarters befitting of Dr. Eggman. At that time, Metropolis was a gargantuan machine-city, a polluted nightmare of steel and concrete, replete with robot sentries, Orwellian telescreens, and free-flowing rivers of radioactive slurry. It was also equipped with various death traps, such as laser torrents, deadly robots and acid traps.[3]

In Sonic Forces, Metropolis differed vastly from its previous incarnations, having either undergone extensive renovations or been rebuild from the ground up in a new location. This version shows Metropolis as a futuristic and pristine but sterile capital with skyscrapers, see-through walkways, and orb-shaped sentries.

History

Sonic the Hedgehog 2

In Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Metropolis was established on West Side Island by Dr. Robotnik. While seeking to stop Robotnik's operations on the island, Sonic the Hedgehog and Tails arrived in Metropolis, making it the eight Zone they visited on their adventure. On their way through the industrial nightmare of a city, the duo encountered Dr. Robotnik, who used his Flying Eggman against them. After triumphing over Robotnik and his contraption, the duo left Metropolis and pursued Robotnik into the sky.

Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood

In Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, Metropolis came under a huge attack from GUN, who attacked the city in full military force, while Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy battled Dr. Eggman on board his latest Egg Carrier. When Tails succeeded in sabotaging the Egg Carrier, the airship fell from the sky and crashed into Metropolis, devastating the city in a massive explosion while GUN forces and the heroes escaped from the scenery.

Following the fall of Metropolis, and with Eggman believed to be dead by the population, the ruins of Metropolis were left to rust. The only visitors were those human scavengers brave or foolhardy enough to raid the ghost city for salvageable metals and technology.[5] Eventually though, the Nocturnus Clan began occupying Metropolis. Claiming the city as their headquarters, the clan remodeled Metropolis, turning it into an even deadlier fortress than before.[3] Using the Chaos Emeralds, the Nocturnus Clan drew Angel Island to Metropolis so they could steal the Master Emerald without interference. E-123 Omega would also come to Metropolis to exterminate Eggman's robots but got ambushed by the Nocturnus Clan, who left him to get disassembled.[6]

Eventually, Eggman provisioned Sonic and his team with the necessary information to infiltrate the Metropolis Underground and stop the Nocturnus Clan. From there, the group of heroes split into two. While Sonic and Knuckles' team hijacked an airship and headed to Angel Island, Tails and Eggman's team remained in Metropolis and provided their allies with air support. Meanwhile, the latter group found Omega, who joined their side.

Metropolis after Angel Island fell on top of it.

When Sonic and Knuckles' team got overwhelmed by Nocturnus Clan soldiers on Angel Island, Tails and Eggman's team came to their rescue. However, they were too late to stop the Nocturnus Clan's theft; after expropriating the Master Emerald from its plinth, the Nocturnus Clan abandoned the stronghold and returned to the Twilight Cage—leaving Angel Island to crash square into the Metropolis. Surviving the crash and deciding to pursue the Nocturnus Clan, Sonic and co. used parts from the smashed remains from Metropolis to built the Blue Cyclone, which could take them into the Twilight Cage. However, Eggman chose to remain behind in Metropolis to watch the gateway into the Twilight Cage while Sonic and the others headed in there.

With Sonic and the world's other heroes inside the Twilight Cage (where time moves much slower), Eggman used his time to rebuild Metropolis, which came to be bristling with weaponry. When Sonic and co. finally returned from the Twilight Cage and saw the rebuilt Metropolis, Eggman promptly shot the Blue Cyclone out of the sky.

Sonic Forces

In Sonic Forces, Metropolis had become a pristine white city filled with advanced technology. When Dr. Eggman began to successfully take over the world, Metropolis would explicitly feature its identity as Eggman's headquarters and capital central for the first time. At some point during Eggman's six months of conquest, this mega city became the heart of the world-spanning Eggman Empire.

Upon discovering that Metropolis was left mostly unguarded, Knuckles lead the Resistance in an all-out assault against the city in "Operation Big Wave". However, Eggman's commander, Infinite, countered the attack using the power of his Phantom Ruby prototype to warp the gravity of Metropolis and create numerous large warped clones of himself. The resulting chaos caused the Resistance troops to panic and scatter, leading to at least 80% of troops being wiped out and forcing a tactical retreat. Despite this, a rookie member of the Resistance did not manage to escape with their friends and ended up encountering Infinite.

As the two fought, the rookie initially proved to be no match for Eggman's commander. However, upon harnessing a mysterious gemstone the Resistance member had discovered earlier, they were able to dodge his vicious attacks. Although surprised by this, Infinite was unconcerned and decided to leave, noting that the entire Resistance would be wiped out in two days by his and Eggman's master plan either way.

Believing they had destroyed the power source of Eggman's new power - the Phantom Rubies - by blowing up the Death Egg, the Resistance launched a second assault on Metropolis. The Resistance's attack diverted Eggman's forces, allowing Sonic to head directly to Eggman's location. Upon reaching the doctor, it was revealed that the Phantom Rubies were still fully functional as the doctor had created a backup power source for the gems under the imperial capital. Infinite then used the power of his Phantom Ruby to open a rift to Null Space - an allegedly inescapable void - to do away with the blue hedgehog once and for all. In the end, Sonic was sucked into Null Space alongside the rookie (who attempted to save Sonic from the Null Space). The two, however, were able to use their combined speed to escape the pocket dimension and made their way back to Metropolis, which was under heavy fire and on the verge of falling to the Resistance. Baffled by Sonic's return, Eggman and Infinite retreated deeper into imperial territory to enact their final plan, leaving the Resistance to capture Metropolis.

Metropolis City was a focal point for many of Robotnik's traps and surprises for Sonic, including the infamous Hero of the Year Award[7] and the ridiculous Mister Blobnik.[8] Sonic and the gang visited the Zone quite frequently, attempting to disrupt Robotnik's rule there.

After the Doctor's regime was toppled in Issue #100, thanks to an electromagnetic pulse generated by Super Sonic, the oppressed residents of Metropolis took back the city and razed Citadel Robotnik.

Archie Comics

In the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by Archie Comics, the Metropolis Zone was initially a temporary location created by Eggman with the first Genesis Wave. In an attempt to stop Eggman's plans for Mobius, Sonic infiltrated the Metropolis Zone to stop Eggman once and for all. When Sonic found Eggman though, he began to realize what Eggman had done to the world, and after a brief battle, the hedgehog chased after Eggman to the Death Egg Mark 2.

In Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Metropolis was clearly located on West Side Island. In Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, it appears to be part of the same landmass as other locations in Sonic's world, implying that this version of the city is somewhere on South Island.

See also

References

↑Sonic Team (November 7, 2017). Sonic Forces. Nintendo Switch. Area/Level: World Map. "Knuckles the Echidna: Listen up! We just got intel that Eggman's forces are undermanned at his headqearters in Metropolis!"

↑ 3.03.13.2BioWare (September 26, 2008). Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood. Nintendo DS. Sega. Area/Level: Green Hill Zone. "Dr. Eggman: How quickly you forget! Metropolis was my most heavily fortified fortress! Laser torrents! Deadly robots! Acid traps! Oh, it was beautiful! Most of that was destroyed after our last battle. But the Marauders have been doing rebuilding. It may be more dangerous now than when I was in charge, if you can believe that!"

↑BioWare (September 26, 2008). Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood. Nintendo DS. Sega. Area/Level: Metropolis. "Old Man: I’ve been scavenging here in Metropolis since the Egg Carrier crashed, and I have yet to get up on top of that building. Looks like there’s an escalator that goes up there, but you have to hit those switches in a certain way to activate the escalator. Beats me how you do it. Feel free to try for yourself. Maybe I can help for a price."

↑BioWare (September 26, 2008). Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood. Nintendo DS. Sega. Area/Level: Metropolis. "E-123 Omega: I came here to destroy all other Eggman robots. But I was surrounded by strange creatures and forced to flee. The cowards followed me. They made their robots dismantle me while I was helpless. Disassembled by inferior machines. It was embarrassing."